BIRD BANDING SET AT CHADRON STATE PARK, WILDCAT HILLS

Posted 6 months ago

By Corey Sorenson

The public is invited to get up-close and personal with bird populations at two parks in the Nebraska Panhandle this fall.

During the coming month, banding stations will be operating at Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area near Gering and Chadron State Park near Chadron. The public is invited to join the bird-banders during two special sessions, Saturday, Aug. 30, at Chadron and Saturday, Sept. 13, at Wildcat Hills.

Attendees of the informational sessions will watch as biologists retrieve birds from nets, collect data, and fit each with a lightweight metal leg band before releasing it back to the wild.

The banding stations will be at the Sawmill Shelter at Chadron and the Nature Center at Wildcat Hills. Both events will be 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and are free of charge. The event at Wildcat Hills is part of the Nature Center’s Wildcat Weekends series of educational activities.

In addition to the public events, the researchers are offering programs for school groups that make arrangements between Sept. 2 and Oct. 3. Those events are targeted to students in kindergarten through 12th grades, and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The bird banding stations are administered by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, and cosponsored by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Nebraska Environmental Trust.

Photo: Melanie Mancuso of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory examines a red crossbill that was captured at a bird banding station at the Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area in August 2013. (NEBRASKAland/Justin Haag)